Northwestern Presents Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's Classic Comedy

Award-winning Northwestern faculty member Mary Poole directs this new production of Shakespeare's romantic comedy Twelfth Night at the Ethel M. Barber Theater. "Twelfth Night" was the name of a festive occasion that closed out the Christmas season in Shakespearian times. Therefore, the title of the play indicates an entertainment appropriate to a night of festivity, song and lots of drinking. Filled with Shakespeare's most indelible comedic characters and side-splitting situations, prepare to laugh out loud at this comic tale of wild infatuation and mistaken identities in the strange land of Illyria.

The students are so very talented. They obviously had great fun doing the play. The comic elements were beautifully staged and timed. Who could not relish Malvolio's discovery of the planted letter with the hidden pranksters reacting in the...continued

Though we go to a lot of plays, this was the first live Shakespearean play we have ever attended, and it was truly a great night of theater! The student actors were just terrific, and though it was 2 1/2 hours long (with an intermission), the...continued

I applaud the cast for trying, but the pace of the dialogue was such, that it was hard to understand anything. The actors must slow down and give the lines a chance to sink in, since the words and phrasing aren't as familiar to our ears. I liked...continued

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Description

After being shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria, aristocratic-born Viola assumes her twin brother is dead and takes on the identity of a young male page named Cesario in an attempt to gain work in an unfamiliar land. Her compromised identity puts her at the center of a complicated love triangle that is hilarious and melancholy, and always entertaining. Under the direction of award-winning Northwestern faculty member Mary Poole, Shakespeare’s dark comedy is a delightful adventure in the timeless human folly of mistaken identity and misguided hearts.